February 2
February 2 is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 332 days remaining until the end of the year (333 in leap years). Contents 1 Events 2 Births 3 Deaths 4 Holidays and observances 5 External links Events 506 – Alaric II, eighth king of the Visigoths promulgates the Breviary of Alaric (Breviarium Alaricianum or Lex Romana Visigothorum), a collection of "Roman law". 962 – Translatio imperii: Pope John XII crowns Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, the first Holy Roman Emperor in nearly 40 years. 1032 – Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor becomes King of Burgundy. 1141 – The Battle of Lincoln, at which King Stephen is defeated and captured by the allies of Empress Matilda. 1207 – Terra Mariana, comprising present-day Estonia and Latvia, is established. 1461 – Wars of the Roses: The Battle of Mortimer's Cross is fought in Herefordshire, England. 1536 – Spaniard Pedro de Mendoza founds Buenos Aires, Argentina. 1542 – Portuguese forces under Cristóvão da Gama capture a Muslim-occupied hill fort in northern Ethiopia in the Battle of Baçente. 1653 – New Amsterdam (later renamed The City of New York) is incorporated. 1709 – Alexander Selkirk is rescued after being shipwrecked on a desert island, inspiring the book Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. 1848 – Mexican–American War: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo is signed. 1848 – California Gold Rush: The first ship with Chinese immigrants arrives in San Francisco. 1868 – Pro-Imperial forces captured Osaka Castle from the Tokugawa shogunate and burned it to the ground. 1876 – The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs of Major League Baseball is formed. 1887 – In Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania the first Groundhog Day is observed. 1899 – The Australian Premiers' Conference held in Melbourne decides to locate Australia's capital city, Canberra, between Sydney and Melbourne. 1901 – Funeral of Queen Victoria. 1913 – Grand Central Terminal is opened in New York City. 1914 – Charlie Chaplin's first film appearance, Making a Living premieres. 1920 – The Tartu Peace Treaty is signed between Estonia and Russia. 1920 – France occupies Memel. 1922 – Ulysses by James Joyce is published. 1925 – Serum run to Nome: Dog sleds reach Nome, Alaska with diphtheria serum, inspiring the Iditarod race. 1933 – Working as maids, the sisters Christine and Léa Papin murder their employer's wife and daughter in Le Mans, France. The case is the subject of a number of French films and plays. 1934 – The Export-Import Bank of the United States is incorporated. 1935 – Leonarde Keeler tests the first polygraph machine. 1942 – The Osvald Group is responsible for the first, active event of anti-Nazi resistance in Norway, to protest the inauguration of Vidkun Quisling. 1943 – World War II: The Battle of Stalingrad comes to an end when Soviet troops accept the surrender of the last German troops in the city. 1957 – Iskander Mirza of Pakistan lays the foundation-stone of the Guddu Barrage. 1959 – Dyatlov Pass incident 1964 – Hasbro launched G.I. Joe 1966 – Pakistan suggests a six-point agenda with Kashmir after the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. 1971 – Idi Amin replaces President Milton Obote as leader of Uganda. 1971 – The international Ramsar Convention for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands is signed in Ramsar, Mazandaran, Iran. 1972 – The British embassy in Dublin is destroyed in protest at Bloody Sunday. 1976 – The Groundhog Day gale hits the north-eastern United States and south-eastern Canada. 1980 – Reports surface that the FBI is targeting allegedly corrupt Congressmen in the Abscam operation. 1982 – Hama massacre: The government of Syria attacks the town of Hama. 1987 – After the 1986 People Power Revolution, the Philippines enacts a new constitution. 1988 – Auntie Anne's is founded by Anne F. Beiler in Lancaster, Pennsylvania 1989 – Soviet war in Afghanistan: The last Soviet armoured column leaves Kabul. 1990 – Apartheid: F. W. de Klerk announces the unbanning of the African National Congress and promises to release Nelson Mandela. 2000 – First digital cinema projection in Europe (Paris) realized by Philippe Binant with the DLP CINEMA technology developed by Texas Instruments. 2004 – Swiss tennis player Roger Federer becomes the No. 1 ranked men's singles player, a position he will hold for a record 237 weeks. 2007 – The worst flooding in Indonesia in 300 years begins. 2011 – First winter ascent of Gasherbrum II by Simone Moro, Denis Urubko and Cory Richards. 2012 – The ferry MV Rabaul Queen sinks off the coast of Papua New Guinea near the Finschhafen District, with an estimated 300 people missing. Births 1208 – James I of Aragon (d. 1276) 1455 – John, King of Denmark (d. 1513) 1457 – Peter Martyr d'Anghiera, Italian-Spanish historian and author (d. 1526) 1494 – Bona Sforza, Italian wife of Sigismund I the Old (d. 1557) 1502 – Damião de Góis, Portuguese philosopher and historian (d. 1574) 1506 – René de Birague, Italian-French cardinal and politician (d. 1583) 1522 – Lodovico Ferrari, Italian mathematician and academic (d. 1565) 1600 – Gabriel Naudé, French librarian and scholar (d. 1653) 1613 – Noël Chabanel, French missionary and saint (d. 1649) 1621 – Johannes Schefferus, Swedish author and hymn-writer (d. 1679) 1650 – Pope Benedict XIII (d. 1730) 1650 – Nell Gwyn, English actress (d. 1687) 1669 – Louis Marchand, French organist and composer (d. 1732) 1695 – William Borlase, English geologist and archaeologist (d. 1772) 1700 – Johann Christoph Gottsched, German author and critic (d. 1766) 1711 – Wenzel Anton, Prince of Kaunitz-Rietberg (d. 1794) 1714 – Gottfried August Homilius, German organist and composer (d. 1785) 1717 – Ernst Gideon von Laudon, Austrian field marshal (d. 1790) 1754 – Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord, French general and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1838) 1782 – Henri de Rigny, French admiral and politician, French Minister of War (d. 1835) 1786 – Jacques Philippe Marie Binet, French mathematician, physicist, and astronomer (d. 1856) 1802 – Jean-Baptiste Boussingault, French chemist and academic (d. 1887) 1803 – Albert Sidney Johnston, American general (d. 1862) 1829 – Alfred Brehm, German zoologist and illustrator (d. 1884) 1829 – William Stanley, English engineer and philanthropist (d. 1909) 1841 – François-Alphonse Forel, Swiss limnologist and hydrologist (d. 1912) 1842 – Julian Sochocki, Polish-Russian mathematician and academic (d. 1927) 1849 – Pavol Országh Hviezdoslav, Slovak poet and playwright (d. 1921) 1851 – José Guadalupe Posada, Mexican illustrator and engraver (d. 1913) 1860 – Curtis Guild, Jr., American journalist and politician, 43rd Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1915) 1861 – Solomon R. Guggenheim, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (d. 1949) 1866 – Enrique Simonet, Spanish painter and academic (d. 1927) 1872 – Clara Butt, English singer (d. 1936) 1873 – Leo Fall, Austrian composer (d. 1925) 1873 – Konstantin von Neurath, German politician and diplomat, 13th German Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1956) 1875 – Fritz Kreisler, Austrian-American violinist and composer (d. 1962) 1881 – Orval Overall, American baseball player and manager (d. 1947) 1882 – Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark (d. 1944) 1882 – James Joyce, Irish author and poet (d. 1941) 1883 – Johnston McCulley, American author and screenwriter, created Zorro (d. 1958) 1886 – William Rose Benét, American poet and author (d. 1950) 1887 – Ernst Hanfstaengl, German businessman (d. 1975) 1887 – Pat Sullivan, Australian-American animator and producer (d. 1933) 1889 – Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, French general (d. 1952) 1890 – Charles Correll, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1972) 1892 – Tochigiyama Moriya, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 27th Yokozuna (d. 1959) 1893 – Cornelius Lanczos, Hungarian mathematician and physicist (d. 1974) 1893 – Damdin Sükhbaatar, Mongolian soldier and politician (d. 1924) 1895 – George Halas, American football player and coach (d. 1983) 1895 – Robert Philipp, American painter (d. 1981) 1896 – Kazimierz Kuratowski, Polish mathematician and logician (d. 1980) 1897 – Howard Deering Johnson, American businessman, founded Howard Johnson's (d. 1972) 1900 – Willie Kamm, American baseball player and manager (d. 1988) 1901 – Jascha Heifetz, Lithuanian violinist and educator (d. 1987) 1902 – Newbold Morris, American lawyer and politician (d. 1966) 1904 – Bozorg Alavi, Iranian author and activist (d. 1997) 1905 – Ayn Rand, Russian-American author and philosopher (d. 1982) 1908 – Wes Ferrell, American baseball player and manager (d. 1976) 1909 – Frank Albertson, American actor (d. 1964) 1912 – Millvina Dean, English civil servant and cartographer (d. 2009) 1912 – Burton Lane, American songwriter and composer (d. 1997) 1913 – Poul Reichhardt, Danish actor and singer (d. 1985) 1914 – Eric Kierans, Canadian economist and politician, 1st Canadian Minister of Communications (d. 2004) 1915 – Abba Eban, South African-Israeli politician and diplomat, 1st Israel Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 2002) 1915 – Stan Leonard, Canadian golfer (d. 2005) 1915 – Khushwant Singh, Indian journalist and author (d. 2014) 1916 – Xuân Diệu, Vietnamese poet and author (d. 1985) 1917 – Đỗ Mười, Vietnamese politician, 5th Prime Minister of Vietnam 1918 – Hella Haasse, Indonesian-Dutch author (d. 2011) 1919 – Lisa Della Casa, Swiss soprano and actress (d. 2012) 1919 – Georg Gawliczek, German footballer and manager (d. 1999) 1922 – James L. Usry, American politician, first African-American mayor of Atlantic City, New Jersey (d. 2002) 1923 – Jean Babilée, French dancer and choreographer (d. 2014) 1923 – James Dickey, American poet and author (d. 1997) 1923 – Bonita Granville, American actress and producer (d. 1988) 1923 – Red Schoendienst, American baseball player, coach, and manager 1923 – Liz Smith, American journalist and author 1924 – Sonny Stitt, American saxophonist and composer (d. 1982) 1925 – Elaine Stritch, American actress and singer (d. 2014) 1926 – Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, French academic and politician, 20th President of France 1927 – Stan Getz, American saxophonist (d. 1991) 1927 – Doris Sams, American baseball player (d. 2012) 1928 – Jay Handlan, American basketball player and engineer (d. 2013) 1928 – A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr., American judge, author, and activist (d. 1998) 1929 – George Band, English engineer and mountaineer (d. 2011) 1929 – Věra Chytilová, Czech actress, director, and screenwriter (d. 2014) 1929 – John Henry Holland, American computer scientist and academic (d. 2015) 1931 – Dries van Agt, Dutch lawyer, jurist, and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands 1931 – Les Dawson, English comedian and author (d. 1993) 1931 – John Paul Harney, Canadian educator and politician 1931 – Judith Viorst, American journalist and author 1932 – Robert Mandan, American actor 1933 – M'el Dowd, American actress and singer (d. 2012) 1933 – Tony Jay, English-American actor and singer (d. 2006) 1933 – Orlando "Cachaíto" López, Cuban bassist and composer (Buena Vista Social Club) (d. 2009) 1933 – Than Shwe, Burmese general and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Burma 1934 – Khalil Ullah Khan, Bangladeshi actor (d. 2014) 1935 – Evgeny Velikhov, Russian physicist and academic 1936 – Metin Oktay, Turkish footballer and manager (d. 1991) 1937 – Don Buford, American baseball player and coach 1937 – Eric Arturo Delvalle, Panamanian lawyer and politician, President of Panama (d. 2015) 1937 – Anthony Haden-Guest, British journalist, poet, and critic 1937 – Tom Smothers, American comedian and actor (Smothers Brothers) 1938 – Norman Fowler, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Transport 1938 – Gene MacLellan, Canadian singer-songwriter (d. 1995) 1939 – Mary-Dell Chilton, American chemist and inventor and one of the founders of modern plant biotechnology 1939 – Dale T. Mortensen, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2014) 1940 – Alan Caddy, English guitarist and producer (Johnny Kidd & the Pirates and The Tornados) (d. 2000) 1940 – Thomas M. Disch, American author and poet (d. 2008) 1940 – Wayne Fontes, American football player and coach 1940 – David Jason, English actor, director, and producer 1942 – Bo Hopkins, American actor 1942 – Graham Nash, English-American singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Hollies, Crosby & Nash, and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young) 1942 – Jang Sung-taek, North Korean politician (d. 2013) 1944 – Andrew Davis, English organist and conductor 1944 – Geoffrey Hughes, English actor (d. 2012) 1944 – Ursula Oppens, American pianist and educator 1945 – John Eatwell, Baron Eatwell, English economist and academic 1945 – Kerem Yılmazer, Turkish actor and singer (d. 2003) 1946 – John Armitt, English engineer and businessman 1946 – Alpha Oumar Konaré, Malian academic and politician, 3rd President of Mali 1946 – Constantine Papadakis, Greek-American businessman and academic (d. 2009) 1947 – Greg Antonacci, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter 1947 – Farrah Fawcett, American actress and producer (d. 2009) 1948 – Ina Garten, American chef and author 1948 – Al McKay, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer (Earth, Wind & Fire) 1948 – Roger Williamson, English race car driver (d. 1973) 1949 – Duncan Bannatyne, Scottish businessman and philanthropist 1949 – Yasuko Namba, Japanese mountaineer (d. 1996) 1950 – Libby Purves, English journalist and author 1950 – Genichiro Tenryu, Japanese wrestler 1951 – Vangelis Alexandris, Greek basketball player and coach 1951 – Ken Bruce, British broadcaster 1952 – John Cornyn, American lawyer and politician, 49th Attorney General of Texas 1952 – Rick Dufay, French-American guitarist and songwriter (Aerosmith) 1952 – Park Geun-hye, South Korean politician, 11th President of South Korea 1952 – Carol Ann Susi, American actress (d. 2014) 1952 – Ralph Merkle, American computer scientist and academic 1953 – Duane Chapman, American bounty hunter 1953 – Jerry Sisk, Jr., American gemologist, co-founded Jewelry Television (d. 2013) 1954 – Christie Brinkley, American model and actress 1954 – Hansi Hinterseer, Austrian skier and actor 1954 – John Tudor, American baseball player 1955 – Leszek Engelking, Polish poet and author 1955 – Bob Schreck, American author 1955 – Kim Zimmer, American actress 1956 – Adnan Oktar, Turkish theorist and author 1957 – Phil Barney, Algerian-French singer-songwriter 1961 – Abraham Iyambo, Namibian politician (d. 2013) 1962 – Philippe Claudel, French author, director, and screenwriter 1962 – Luke Johnson, English businessman 1963 – Eva Cassidy, American singer and guitarist (d. 1996) 1963 – Kjell Dahlin, Swedish ice hockey player 1963 – Stephen McGann, English actor 1964 – Diane Charlemagne, English singer-songwriter (52nd Street and Urban Cookie Collective) (d. 2015) 1965 – Carl Airey, English footballer 1965 – Naoki Sano, Japanese wrestler and mixed martial artist 1966 – Andrei Chesnokov, Russian tennis player and coach 1966 – Robert DeLeo, American bass player, songwriter, and producer (Stone Temple Pilots, Army of Anyone, and Talk Show) 1966 – Michael Misick, Caicos Islander politician, Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands 1967 – Artūrs Irbe, Latvian ice hockey player and coach 1967 – Laurent Nkunda, Congolese general 1968 – Sean Elliott, American basketball player and sportscaster 1968 – Scott Erickson, American baseball player and coach 1969 – Valeri Karpin, Estonian-Russian footballer and manager 1970 – Jennifer Westfeldt, American actress, singer, and screenwriter 1971 – Rockwilder, American rapper and producer 1971 – Michelle Gayle, English singer-songwriter and actress 1971 – Isaac Kungwane, South African footballer and sportscaster (d. 2014) 1971 – Jason Taylor, Australian rugby player and coach 1972 – Dana International, Israeli singer-songwriter 1972 – Melvin Mora, Venezuelan baseball player 1973 – Andrei Luzgin, Estonian tennis player and coach 1973 – Marissa Jaret Winokur, American actress and singer 1975 – Todd Bertuzzi, Canadian ice hockey player 1975 – Donald Driver, American football player 1975 – Ieroklis Stoltidis, Greek footballer 1976 – Ryan Farquhar, Northern Irish motorcycle racer 1976 – James Hickman, English swimmer 1976 – Ana Roces, Filipino actress 1977 – Shakira, Colombian singer-songwriter, producer, and actress 1977 – Libor Sionko, Czech footballer 1978 – Eden Espinosa, American actress and singer 1978 – Annabel Ellwood, Australian tennis player 1978 – Barry Ferguson, Scottish footballer and manager 1979 – Urmo Aava, Estonian race car driver 1979 – Klaus Mainzer, German rugby player 1980 – Angela Finger-Erben, German journalist 1980 – Oleguer Presas, Spanish footballer 1981 – Salem al-Hazmi, Saudi Arabian terrorist, hijacker of American Airlines Flight 77 (d. 2001) 1981 – Emre Aydın, Turkish singer-songwriter (6. Cadde) 1982 – Sergio Castaño Ortega, Spanish footballer 1982 – Kelly Mazzante, American basketball player 1983 – Ronny Cedeño, Venezuelan baseball player 1983 – Carolina Klüft, Swedish heptathlete and jumper 1983 – Jordin Tootoo, Canadian ice hockey player 1983 – Vladimir Voskoboinikov, Estonian footballer 1983 – Alex Westaway, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Fightstar) 1984 – Brian Cage, American wrestler 1984 – Rudi Wulf, New Zealand rugby player 1985 – Silvestre Varela, Portuguese footballer 1986 – Gemma Arterton, English actress and singer 1987 – Anthony Fainga'a, Australian rugby player 1987 – Saia Fainga'a, Australian rugby player 1987 – Athena Imperial, Filipino journalist, Miss Earth-Water 2011 1987 – Mimi Page, American singer-songwriter and producer 1987 – Gerard Piqué, Spanish footballer 1987 – Javon Ringer, American football player 1987 – Jill Scott, English footballer 1987 – Victoria Song, Chinese singer and actress (f(x)) 1987 – Martin Spanjers, American actor and producer 1988 – Zosia Mamet, American actress 1991 – Nathan Delfouneso, English footballer 1991 – Gregory Mertens, Belgian footballer (d. 2015) 1992 – Joonas Tamm, Estonian footballer 1992 – Danielle White, American singer-songwriter and actress (American Juniors) 1993 – Jake Cassidy, Welsh footballer 1993 – Ravel Morrison, English footballer 1995 – Paul Digby, English footballer 1995 – Aleksander Jagiełło, Polish footballer Deaths Govert Flinck Pope Clement XIII Jaap Eden Carl Friedrich Goerdeler Boris Karloff Sid Vicious Gene Kelly Philip Seymour Hoffman619 – Laurence of Canterbury, English archbishop and saint 1124 – Bořivoj II, Duke of Bohemia (b. 1064) 1218 – Konstantin of Rostov (b. 1186) 1250 – Eric XI of Sweden (b. 1216) 1294 – Louis II, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1229) 1448 – Ibn Hajar al-Asqalani, Egyptian jurist and scholar (b. 1372) 1512 – Hatuey, Caribbean tribal chief 1529 – Baldassare Castiglione, Italian soldier and diplomat (b. 1478) 1580 – Bessho Nagaharu, Japanese daimyo (b. 1558) 1594 – Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Italian composer and educator (b. 1525) 1648 – George Abbot, English author and politician (b. 1603) 1660 – Gaston, Duke of Orléans (b. 1608) 1660 – Govert Flinck, Dutch painter (b. 1615) 1661 – Lucas Holstenius, German geographer and historian (b. 1596) 1675 – Ivan Belostenec, Croatian linguist and lexicographer (b. 1594) 1688 – Abraham Duquesne, French admiral (b. 1610) 1704 – Guillaume de l'Hôpital, French mathematician and academic (b. 1661) 1712 – Martin Lister, English physician and geologist (b. 1639) 1714 – John Sharp, English archbishop (b. 1643) 1723 – Antonio Maria Valsalva, Italian anatomist and physician (b. 1666) 1768 – Robert Smith, English mathematician and theorist (b. 1689) 1769 – Pope Clement XIII (b. 1693) 1802 – Welbore Ellis, 1st Baron Mendip, English politician, Secretary of State for the Colonies (b. 1713) 1804 – George Walton, American lawyer and politician, Governor of Georgia (b. 1749) 1904 – Ernest Cashel, American-Canadian criminal (b. 1882) 1904 – William Collins Whitney, American financier and politician, 31st United States Secretary of the Navy (b. 1841) 1905 – Henri Germain, French banker and politician, founded Le Crédit Lyonnais (b. 1824) 1907 – Dmitri Mendeleev, Russian chemist and academic (b. 1834) 1909 – Carlo Acton, Italian pianist and composer (b. 1829) 1913 – Gustaf de Laval, Swedish engineer (b. 1845) 1918 – John L. Sullivan, American boxer (b. 1858) 1919 – Julius Kuperjanov, Estonian lieutenant (b. 1894) 1925 – Antti Aarne, Finnish historian and academic (b. 1867) 1925 – Jaap Eden, Dutch speed skater and cyclist (b. 1873) 1926 – Vladimir Sukhomlinov, Russian general and politician (b. 1848) 1932 – Agha Petros, Assyrian general and politician (b. 1880) 1939 – Bernhard Gregory, Estonian-German chess player (b. 1879) 1942 – Ado Birk, Estonian lawyer and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Estonia (b. 1883) 1942 – Daniil Kharms, Russian poet and playwright (b. 1905) 1942 – Hugh D. McIntosh, Australian businessman (b. 1876) 1945 – Alfred Delp, German priest and philosopher (b. 1907) 1945 – Carl Friedrich Goerdeler, German economist and politician (b. 1884) 1945 – Johannes Popitz, German lawyer and politician (b. 1884) 1948 – Thomas W. Lamont, American banker and philanthropist (b. 1870) 1948 – Bevil Rudd, South African runner and journalist (b. 1894) 1950 – Constantin Carathéodory, Greek mathematician and academic (b. 1873) 1952 – Callistratus of Georgia, Georgian patriarch (b. 1866) 1954 – Hella Wuolijoki, Estonian-Finnish author and politician (b. 1886) 1956 – Charley Grapewin, American actor and singer (b. 1869) 1956 – Truxtun Hare, American football player and hammer thrower (b. 1878) 1956 – Pyotr Konchalovsky, Russian painter (b. 1876) 1957 – Grigory Landsberg, Russian physicist and academic (b. 1890) 1962 – Shlomo Hestrin, Canadian-Israeli biochemist and academic (b. 1914) 1968 – Tullio Serafin, Italian conductor and director (b. 1878) 1969 – Boris Karloff, English actor (b. 1887) 1970 – Lawrence Gray, American actor and singer (b. 1898) 1970 – Bertrand Russell, English mathematician and philosopher, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1872) 1972 – Natalie Clifford Barney, American author, poet, and playwright (b. 1876) 1973 – Hendrik Elias, Belgian academic and politician, 9th Mayor of Ghent (b. 1902) 1974 – Imre Lakatos, Hungarian-English mathematician and philosopher (b. 1922) 1975 – Gustave Lanctot, Canadian historian and academic (b. 1883) 1979 – Jim Burke, Australian cricketer and sportscaster (b. 1930) 1979 – Sid Vicious, English singer and bass player (Sex Pistols, Vicious White Kids, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and The Flowers of Romance) (b. 1957) 1980 – William Howard Stein, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911) 1983 – Sam Chatmon, American singer and guitarist (Mississippi Sheiks) (b. 1897) 1986 – Gino Hernandez, American wrestler (b. 1957) 1987 – Carlos José Castilho, Brazilian footballer and manager (b. 1927) 1987 – Alistair MacLean, Scottish novelist and screenwriter (b. 1922) 1988 – Marcel Bozzuffi, French actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1929) 1989 – Ondrej Nepela, Slovak figure skater and coach (b. 1951) 1989 – Arnold Nordmeyer, New Zealand minister and politician, 30th New Zealand Minister of Finance (b. 1901) 1990 – Paul Ariste, Estonian linguist and academic (b. 1905) 1990 – Joe Erskine, Welsh boxer (b. 1934) 1992 – Bert Parks, American actor, singer, television personality; Miss America telecast presenter (b. 1914) 1993 – François Reichenbach, French director and screenwriter (b. 1921) 1995 – Thomas Hayward, American tenor and actor (b. 1917) 1995 – Fred Perry, English-Australian tennis player (b. 1909) 1995 – Donald Pleasence, English-French actor and singer (b. 1919) 1996 – Gene Kelly, American actor, singer, dancer, and director (b. 1912) 1997 – Erich Eliskases, Austrian chess player (b. 1913) 1997 – Sanford Meisner, American actor and coach (b. 1904) 1998 – Haroun Tazieff, German-French geologist and cinematographer (b. 1914) 1999 – David McComb, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Triffids and The Blackeyed Susans) (b. 1962) 2002 – Paul Baloff, American singer-songwriter (Exodus) (b. 1960) 2002 – Claude Brown, American author (b. 1937) 2003 – Lou Harrison, American composer and educator (b. 1917) 2004 – Bernard McEveety, American director and producer (b. 1924) 2005 – Max Schmeling, German boxer (b. 1905) 2007 – Vijay Arora, Indian actor (b. 1944) 2007 – Billy Henderson, American singer (The Spinners) (b. 1939) 2007 – Eric Von Schmidt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1931) 2008 – Barry Morse, Canadian actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1918) 2008 – Katoucha Niane, Guinean model and author (b. 1960) 2011 – Edward Amy, Canadian general (b. 1918) 2011 – Margaret John, Welsh actress (b. 1926) 2012 – Frederick William Danker, American lexicographer and scholar (b. 1920) 2012 – George Esper, American journalist and academic (b. 1932) 2012 – Dorothy Gilman, American author (b. 1923) 2012 – James F. Lloyd, American pilot and politician (b. 1922) 2013 – Abraham Iyambo, Namibian politician (b. 1961) 2013 – John Kerr, American actor and lawyer (b. 1931) 2013 – Chris Kyle, American soldier and sniper (b. 1974) 2013 – Lino Oviedo, Paraguayan general and politician (b. 1943) 2013 – Pepper Paire, American baseball player (b. 1924) 2014 – Gerd Albrecht, German conductor (b. 1935) 2014 – Eduardo Coutinho, Brazilian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1933) 2014 – Philip Seymour Hoffman, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1967) 2014 – Werner Husemann, German soldier and pilot (b. 1919) 2014 – Luis Raúl, Puerto Rican comedian and actor (b. 1962) 2014 – Bunny Rugs, Jamaican singer (Third World and Inner Circle) (b. 1948) 2015 – Joseph Alfidi, American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1949) 2015 – Dave Bergman, American baseball player (b. 1953) 2015 – The Jacka, American rapper and producer (Mob Figaz) (b. 1977) 2015 – Andriy Kuzmenko, Ukrainian singer-songwriter and actor (Skryabin) (b. 1968) 2015 – Molade Okoya-Thomas, Nigerian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1935) 2016 – Bob Elliott, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1923) 2016 – Marcus Turner, New Zealand singer-songwriter and television host (b. 1956) Holidays and observances Anniversary of Treaty of Tartu (Estonia) Christian Feast Day: Cornelius the Centurion February 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Constitution Day (Philippines) Day of Youth (Azerbaijan) Earliest day on which Shrove Monday can fall, while March 8 is the latest; celebrated on Monday before Ash Wednesday (Christianity), and its related observances: Bun Day (Iceland) Fastelavn (Denmark/Norway) Nickanan Night (Cornwall) Rosenmontag (Germany) Feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple or Candlemas (Western Christianity), and its related observances: A quarter day in the Christian calendar (due to Candlemas). (Scotland) Celebration of Yemanja (Candomblé) Le Jour des Crêpes (France) Our Lady of Navigators (Brazil) Our Lady of the Candles (Filipino Catholics) Virgin of Candelaria (Tenerife, Spain) Groundhog Day (United States and Canada), and its related observances: Marmot Day (Alaska) Inventor's Day (Thailand) World Wetlands Day (International) External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to February 2. BBC: On This Day The New York Times: On This Day Today in Canadian History Category:Days of the year Category:February